Will We Ever Stop Running?
by vlynn5894
Summary: Vanessa and Vera ran to aviod a conviction. They always made sure not to get attached to anybody other than each other, but what will happen when Vanessa falls for Tokio Hotel's Gustav Schafer?
1. Prologue

Three years ago. Just three years ago I had a normal life, with my normal twin sister, and my normal friends. Now, we're on the run, with different names and different stories. We try to attract as little attention as possible, but somehow I managed to catch the eye of one person. Now I've dragged him into my entire world of lies. Oh God, what have I done?


	2. And now we have to run, come on

Well, to start from the beginning, my name's Vanessa. My twin sister's name is Vera. I'm older than her by about 47 minutes. It shouldn't have been that long, but when we were born my mom started bleeding uncontrollably after I was born. The doctors had to surgically stop the bleeding before they could get my sister out.

Anyway, we always had each other's back, and we always promised each other nothing would ever change that. Like any other set of siblings, we were different in some ways, but I always knew that Vera was slightly more different than other people. She needed help with the simplest of tasks and took orders from others even if she knew it would get her in trouble. If someone raised their voice the slightest bit at her, she would cower in a corner until me or one of our close friends came to her rescue. People picked on her all the time because she couldn't fend for herself. She always needed me with her to keep her out of trouble. Even when we were older, I never left her home by herself; I was too afraid she'd hurt herself or someone else. That was another thing about her; if you pushed her too far she would lash out in a very violent way. Once she stabbed me in the arm with a fork because I kept bugging her about a boy she liked. Every day, she always had to have someone with her. But one day, a misunderstanding ended up with her being left alone. Believe me when I say that there is no greater regret than leaving your unstable sister alone.

I had just gotten home from volley ball practice, and from the looks of the clouds, the sky was about to break open. I parked my old Toyota in the empty driveway. Since there were no other cars, I figured my mom had taken Vera somewhere. But the instant I walked in the door, I knew she was there alone. The stench of blood was strong; way too strong to be something small like a nosebleed. Running to the back of the house, I followed the smell to the den. Opening the door, I saw a body lying in a puddle of blood. I held in a scream and my lunch. But when I saw the body had long red hair, I started to panic.

"Vera?" I called out.

My response was a soft whimper from the corner of the room. I turned to see my sister curled into the fetal position on the floor. I knelt beside her, checking her over for any injuries. Her clothes and face were covered in blood, but none of it seemed to be coming from her. She looked up at me with terror-filled eyes.

"Vera, what happened?" I asked as calmly as I could manage.

"I-I don't know," she squeaked, "she was at the door one minute, t-then she was back here p-pushing me around a-and saying bad things about me. Next thing I knew, s-she was on the floor, bleeding, a lot; and I had the knife in my hands."

She started sobbing like mad, tucking her face into her knees. Helping her to her feet, I walked her to the bathroom and told her to take a shower. She went into the bathroom and turned on the water. When she was in the shower, I ran to the laundry room, grabbing a mop, a bucket, and any cleaner I thought would clean up the blood. First I had to move the body.

I returned to the room trying to think of what to do. Just then, a thought crossed my mind; if someone found the body, they would find Vera guilty and send her to prison. With abusive inmates and even more abusive guards. If Vera went to prison, she would end up either killing herself, being killed, or go insane. I couldn't let her be sent there. Moving quickly, I wrapped the body- whom I recognized as Olivia, a girl at our school who always picked on Vera- in a bed sheet and dragged it to the back yard. I hid it under the over grown shrubs in the far corner of the yard. Then I ran back inside, telling Vera to go to her room, get dressed, and wait for me on her bed.

I ran back to the den and cleaned up the blood on the floor. When I was certain there was no possible way for anyone to know there'd been any blood, I went to my room to change my clothes. Then I stuffed all the clothes I could into two suitcases. I dragged them all the way out to my truck and tossed them in the bed. It had started to pour by now, with thunder and lightning to top it off. Vera was standing by the door when I walked back into the house.

"Where are we going?" she asked in soft voice.

"I don't know, but we have to go now," I told her. "Go get in my truck and put your seatbelt on."

I watched her walk to my truck and get in the passenger side. The last thing I did before leaving was go through every box, drawer and pocket in the house, searching for any money I could find; most of it coming from the three thousand dollars worth of emergency money my parents kept in a cigar box. I found a total of three thousand two hundred and fifty four dollars. I shoved it all in my pocket as I ran out the door and jumped into my truck. I sped down the street and stopped at first the bank, to empty my account; then the grocery store to get food for us. Then I headed straight for the highway, away from everything I'd come to know and love. Away from all my friends and family. As we drove down the dark, wet road, I couldn't help but wonder: "How long will we have to run?"


	3. I want to, but I can't

We spent two weeks on the road, listening for the reports. There were lots of them, almost all of them naming me and Vera as Olivia's killers. They were offering rewards to anyone with info on our whereabouts. I was glad I stopped at a mall to get hair dye from Hot Topic. Now Vera had deep chocolate brown hair and I had jet black. We managed to get our high school diplomas online under fake names and are now living in a small apartment in California where we have jobs for a website that posts videos and such about celebrities as an interviewer and receptionist. We go by the names Evelyn and Tally and as far as everyone else knows, we're just average 20-year olds trying to make a living. I spend most of my time at work joking around with the people I interview and almost always end up going out with them to get drinks. I always bring Vera along so I can keep an eye on her.

One day, I was notified I would be interviewing Tokio Hotel! I was super excited to hear this because I had been a fan of them since I was 14. I When they arrived at the office building, we went into the room where I interviewed people and set up the cameras and got to know each other a little before the interview.

"So, you lost your shoe in an open field, and no one ever found it?" We were talking about a time when Georg had been drunk and parked his car in a big field.

"Never," he replied to my question.

"Sucks for you, dude," I said as I adjusted the webcam sitting on my laptop.

"Alright, well let's start this interview so I don't get fired," I joked, shuffling papers in my hands.

The interview ran as any other with questions from fans and some stupid questions thrown in on the side.

"Well, thanks for stopping by, I hope you guys come back soon," I said cheerfully as I escorted them to the door.

"Us too," Tom said with a slight smirk on his face. "You want to go to a party with us tonight?"

"Sure, but only if I can bring my sister."

"Is she as cute as you?" Tom asked, playing with his lip ring.

"We're identical twins, so yeah I'd imagine so. You probably saw her on your way in; Tally, brown hair, she's a receptionist?"

"Oh yeah! We talked to her when we got here!" Bill said excitedly.

We made plans to meet at the club at 7:30, and with that they left to go back to their hotel. When Tally (Vera) and I got off work, I told her about the party and she agreed to go. No surprise, she always did what she was told. When we got back to our apartment, I picked out outfits for us to wear that night and told Tally to take a shower while I fixed something for us to eat before leaving. When she got out of the shower, I told her to put on the clothes I picked out for her and then watch T.V. I took my shower and got myself ready before helping Tally with her makeup. We ate quickly and then headed out to the club to meet the guys. This was something we did on a regular basis, so there wasn't any awkwardness about hanging out with them. When we got to the club, there was a long line outside that would've taken forever to get through. However, Tom was waiting for us at the door and told the bouncer we were with him, allowing us to skip the line.

Inside the club it was loud and dark with strobe lights and people wearing glowing necklaces and bracelets. Tom led us to a table in the back of the club, away from most of the noise, where the others were sitting.

"Hey, glad you two could come," Bill greeted us.

We sat down and ordered drinks from the waiter who smiled suggestively at me. This made me rather uncomfortable and, noticing this, _Gustav_ put his arm around my shoulders protectively. The waiter walked away, notably disappointed.

"Thanks," I called to him over the music.

"No problem," he said his arm still around me.

"So girls, what made you want to what you do at such a young age?" Georg asked.

"We always like the music scene, and we wanted to get close to artists, so we decided to go where the rich and famous are," I responded the same answer I'd given a million other people had asked in the past.

"Your friends must be jealous," Bill stated.

"We don't have many friends; we're at work most of the time."

"What about boyfriends?" Tom asked, an eyebrow raised.

I shook my head negatively.

"What about you, Tally? Any special people in your life?" Bill asked her.

She shook her head the same way I had just done, her dark brown hair sweeping her shoulders.

"Just my sister," she said, grabbing my hand under the table. I squeezed her hand slightly.

"You girls want to dance?" Tom asked, gesturing to the dance floor.

I looked at Tally who nodded eagerly. We all got up and made our way on to the floor and danced together. I made special care to make sure Tally stayed next to me while we did so. After a while, a slow song came on and the people around us began dancing in pairs.

"You wanna sit down?" I asked my sister.

"I don't know, not really," she said.

Bill walked up next to us, facing Tally.

"Would you like to dance, Tally?" he asked her, holding his hand out like a gentleman.

She looked at me as if asking for approval. It seemed like they were really connecting, but I didn't want to let her stray too far from my sight. I nodded slowly and watched them dance back and forth to the steady beat.

Since we were at the edge of the crowd, I sat down at the bar where I could still watch them and ordered myself a soda. The people on the floor moved with the beat while looking into each other's eyes in a loving fashion. Even Bill and Tally seemed to be looking at each other a certain way. I felt kind of bad for him, since this would probably be the last time they would see each other, but life goes on.

"You wanna dance?" Gustav asked as he walked up to me.

I started to shake my head, but he pulled me by the hand onto the dance floor before I could refuse. He placed my hands on the back of his neck and put his hands on my waist. We rocked slowly to the music beneath the changing lights. He was looking right into my eyes, and I into his. They were practically glowing with what looked like admiration and adoration. I'd always had a crush on him, so I'm sure he could see a reflection of these emotions in mine.

"So Evelyn, do you and your sister live far from here?" he asked.

"Not really; we get asked out for drinks a lot, so we may as well go somewhere close to home," I explained.

"I thought neither of you had boyfriends," he smirked.

"I never said there were any follow ups."

"Why not?"

"Tally- she can't really be trusted to be alone. She's- unstable." It was never easy to explain her specialness to other people. That was the main reason for the many first dates, but never seconds.

"What- drugs?"

"No, she's just- a little slow; and indecisive; and dependant. She's basically trapped in her own little world so she needs me there all the time." This is where guys typically start losing interest.

"Looks like Bill's got her pretty focused," Gustav said looking past me.

I turned my head to see the two of them comfortably with their hands on each other; talking softly and swaying to the beat. Tally was smiling and laughing like when she thought something was genuinely funny. She seemed- happy; something she hadn't been since we left home. I sighed at the thought of how disappointed she would be when they had to leave.

"What's wrong?" Gustav inquired at my sigh.

"It's just that you guys will be leaving soon, and she'll be sad when you guys leave town."

"Well, we don't leave for another couple of days, so why don't you girls meet us tomorrow for coffee?" he asked hopefully.

"I don't know; we probably have to work, and I don't know when we'll get off-"

"Please; we'll pick you up and we'll just hang out for a couple of hours," he pleaded.

I didn't want to get to close to them; that might lead to them digging into our past. But I did want to meet them again; especially Gustav, and Tally really seemed to be hitting it off with Bill. But I still had to consider the risk of our cover being blown.

"Alright," I agreed.

What the hell was I doing?


	4. Didn't we leave the past behind us?

The next day was a slow day at work; I spent all day piecing together videos and stories for the company's website and Tally went on with her normal receptionist- type business. At the end of the day we walked out the door and headed for my truck, but instead found a rented black and blue Jeep Wrangler in front of the building with Gustav and Bill in the front seats. They were both wearing sunglasses and Bill had left his hair down.

"Hop in," Gustav called.

Bill got out of the car to help Tally climb over the bars into the backseat and sat with her; leaving the passenger seat next to Gustav open for me. I climbed into the car and buckled myself in as Gustav drove off around the corner.

"Where's the nearest coffee place?" Gustav shouted over the sound of the wind rushing past us.

"Right around the corner here," I yelled, pointing in said direction.

We pulled into a spot right in front of the coffee house and exited the vehicle. We walked in to the dimly lit building that smelled of vanilla and cinnamon. We placed our orders, which the guys insisted on paying for, and sat down at a small booth just big enough to seat four people.

"So how was work?" Bill asked; more to Tally than to me.

"It was fine," she replied plainly.

"What about you?" Gustav said to me "How was your day?"

"Dull; I had no one to interview, so got to spend the whole day writing articles for our website," I said unenthusiastically.

"So would this be considered the highlight of your day?" he asked.

"Pretty much."

When our order was called, Bill went to get the tray with Tally trailing right behind him. Gustav and I sat in the booth awkwardly for a few seconds before he spoke again.

"So who would you say has been your favorite person to interview since you started with your company?"

"Ummm, this might sound a bit fan- girlish, but probably you guys," I said as I felt my face turn red.

"Really?"

"Yep."

"And why would that be?"

"Because you guys actually act like you're excited to be there; not the usual bored, tired, _'yeah, let's just get this over with'_ people I usually get."

"Were we? 'Cause we actually were pretty tired yesterday. But I guess that's what Red Bull is for."

I laughed lightly at his comment. Bill and Tally returned with our drinks then and we all sat around talking about life and other random paraphernalia. Two more drinks per person later, we realized that we'd spent nearly three hours in the coffee shop and it had gotten dark outside. My phone told me it was a quarter 'til eight.

"Wow, time does fly. Can you drop us back off at our work building so we can drive home?" I asked Gustav.

"Sure," he said.

We left the building and climbed back into the Jeep in the same arrangement as before. The night air was hot and sticky, so the air surging past felt good in the top- less car. When we got back to the parking lot, Tally and I collected our things preparing to get into my truck.

"So when will we be seeing you girls again?" Bill asked as we got down from the Jeep.

"You probably won't," I said, "since you guys are leaving soon and I have a lot of stuff to do with work-"

What about you, Tally?" Bill asked my sister. "Can I take you somewhere tomorrow night?"

"Yes," she piped up before I could say anything.

"I don't think that would be a very good idea, Tally," I said sternly to her.

"Oh come on; what harm can one little date do? Bill protested as he winked at Tally. She blushed and giggled shyly.

'_No! NO! I will_ not _allow this!'_ I screamed in my head.

"Where?" I questioned him.

"I think Tally is capable of deciding for herself," he scolded me.

"You don't even know-"

"Yes," Tally said firmly, "yes want to go somewhere with you, Bill."

I looked at her astonished; since when did she become so defiant?

"Yes," she said again, "I'm going."

"Great, I'll pick you up after work," Bill said as he and Gustav drove off.

The drive back to our apartment was silent and tense. When we walked through the front door, Tally went straight to the bathroom and locked herself in. I sat on the old, beat up couch and stared at the wall. When she was done with her shower she put on her pajamas and sat on the lumpy armchair next to the T.V.

"Ev-"

"Why would you do that?"I blurted out. "Why would you just agree to something when you know I would say 'no'?"

"I like him," she mumbled.

"Tally, he will be gone in two days, do you understand? You are hurting yourself by getting close to him. It will be better for us all if you just forget about him now."

"I can think for myself," she yelled.

"No you can't! You make decisions spur of the moment; you don't think about the big picture."

"There's nothing to think about!"

"What if he finds out about our past?"

She stood and walked towards our room. I stood as well, though I'm not sure why.

"There's nothing to know!" she shouted.

"Vera!"

We both froze where we stood. Tally slowly turned to face me. The look on her face resembled a young child when he hears someone say a curse word. Neither of us had used our real names since we left home. Now that one of them had been spoken aloud, there was an ungainly sense in the air that brought back all the unsettling memories of our last day at home.

"Tally, please don't-"

"But I want to see him again."

After carefully formulating a plan I finally agreed to let her go out with Bill. I drove down to the nearest Best buy and got her one of those pay as you go phones. After programming my number into it, I gave her very clear orders to call me as soon as their date was over or if there was any kind of emergency. The next day after work I watched as my baby sister climbed into the front of that black and blue Jeep with Bill and drive around the corner.


	5. One thing leads to another

I tried watching T.V, but I couldn't focus on anything that was on. I tried reading a book, but I just kept going over the same paragraph again and again. Nothing could distract me from the thought of what my sister could be doing right now. I was just about to call her when the phone rang.

"Hello?" I picked up.

"Evelyn? Hi, it's Gustav," the voice on the other end of the line said.

"Oh, hi. How'd you get my phone number? I don't recall giving it to you."

"There's a phone book in my hotel room and I just thought I'd – you know – look you up," he said.

We talked for a while and I ended up inviting him back to my place. He agreed and said he'd be right over. I tidied up the apartment while I waited for him. As I did, I tried to think of reasons why he would've called me; surly I wasn't his type. He probably liked girls that liked going to parties and hanging all over him; I was overprotective and kind of uptight. I don't know what he saw in me, but whatever. Fifteen minutes later there was a knock at the door.

"Hi," I said as I opened the door.

"Hey," he said in greeting.

"How have you been?"

"Good, and yourself?"

"Fine," I said tensely.

"You seemed a bit nervous when Bill picked up your sister."

"Well, that's just because she hasn't dated much and I'm concerned about her safety."

I was lying through my teeth; I was _terrified_ for her safety, as well as Bill's. She hadn't been out without me since we left home, and now she was just out and about running around with some stranger? The thought of it horrified me! But I didn't want him to know that.

"Well it is _Bill_ she with, not _Tom_, so you have little to fear," he joked.

I couldn't help but smile a little at his witty comment. Whoa, what was going on with me? I can't be falling for him. I'd been purposely avoiding people for the past three years and now I was suddenly drooling over one guy? All this Tally and Bill nonsense was getting to me.

"Would you like to go get some dinner?" he asked suddenly.

"Uh, sure," I said, reaching for my coat.

We walked around the corner to a small Italian restaurant not far from my apartment building. We sat down and ordered our beverages before we started talking some more.

"So how much longer are you guys going to be in town?"

"A couple more days, I think," he said looking deep in concentration. "Just some promotional stuff, really."

The waitress came over to take our order then. We continue through our meal making small talk about any random subject we could think of. After we paid the bill we went back to my apartment to hang out some more.

"You wanna watch a movie or something?" I suggested.

"Sure, what do you have?"

"We got every Tim Burton movie ever made, Transformers, Juno, and some classic horror films."

"Oh, which ones?" he asked excitedly.

"_Dracula, The Invisible Man, The Amazing Colossal Man, Frankenstein_-"

"Can we watch that one?"

"OK."

I popped in the DVD and sat next to him on the couch. This was one of my favorites and it helped take my mind off my earlier dilemma. About half way through the movie I noticed Gustav's arm was resting on the back of the couch, almost around my shoulders. I suddenly noticed I felt a bit chilly and shivered slightly. Gustav noticed and placed his arm completely on my shoulders then pulled me over so I was leaning against his chest whit his arm still around me.

"Better?" he asked softly.

I just nodded in response.

'_Oh yes, this is_ much _better_,' I thought.

When the movie ended it was only eight thirty

"Wow, it's still pretty early," I said.

"Yeah, it is," Gustav observed. "Do you have _Bride of Frankenstein_?"

"Of course."

"Double feature?"

"Let's do it."

We watched the sequel in the same fashion as the first; sitting quietly on the couch with his arm around my shoulders. Somehow during the movie, though, his arm managed to fall around my waist and I ended up leaning my body on his chest. I didn't even notice until he leaned back against the armrest, pulling me with him. I don't know what he was thinking about this, but I felt myself blushing like a teenager on a first date. _You're being so stupid right now! Stop it!_ But I didn't want to stop this, I kinda liked it.

When the movie was over we absent-mindedly watched the credits roll. I felt Gustav playing with a piece of my hair.

"Having fun?" I asked sarcastically.

"I am, actually. You're quite entertaining," he replied in a joking tone.

"Glad I make a good hostess."

"I bet you're good at many things."

"Such as?"

"Well, you seem pretty good at picking out movies."

I laughed slightly at his jest.

"If only they were more like the books."

"They're not?"

"Oh, not at all; the books were much different."

"How so?"

I went on to tell him how in the book, the Frankenstein monster was actually very intelligent and carefully planned each of his killings to threaten the scientist so he would create a female monster to be his mate.

"But in the end, he goes kinda crazy and throws out the whole project. Then he goes back home and marries his fiancé, but the monster kills her on their wedding night because the scientist didn't make his mate."

"So, they both have to live alone?"

"I don't really know; it ended by turning into a letter to the author from someone she knew. What a sucky ending, huh?"

"It sounds sad; they both lost their lovers and had to live with that pain."

"Well, the monster never had a lover, so really they both just lived sad, lonely lives."

"That's still sad, I would hate to be in love with a girl and then never be able to see her again."

"With the life you live, that doesn't sound completely out of the question."

He gave me a quizzical look.

"Just saying," I defended.

"I would always try to maintain a relationship with a girl if I had strong feelings for her; for example, I called you up, didn't I?"

I raised my eyebrows in a suggestive, yet joking, way.

"Are you suggesting you have feelings for me beyond mere acquaintanceship?"

"I don't know what that last part meant, but maybe I was."

"That is fairly noble of you, sir. Do tell how you came to this conclusion."

"Are you still speaking English?"

I giggled at his confusion.

"Yes, I just like seeing you get all confuzzled," I said, reaching up to ruffle his hair.

Since I was still lying on my back looking up at him, my arm went up kind of awkwardly and I needed a few tries to get my hand even close to his head. He didn't help any by moving around to avoid my hand. He ended up grabbing my hand and holding it firmly to his shoulder above my head. I then tried to get him with my other hand, but he did the same with that one.

"Not fair," I pouted.

To my surprise, he chuckled.

"That face probably looks very cute and innocent, but upside-down it just looks silly."

I rolled over so I wasn't straining my neck anymore and looking him right in the face. He released my hands, which I placed on either side of his body. Our faces were not too far from each other now. I felt my face get all hot, and I just hoped he didn't notice.

We both took a minute to examine each other's faces.

"You have beautiful eyes," he said shyly.

"Thanks," I said barley audibly.

He bit his lip while looking at my eyes and briefly glancing at my mouth. As if by his own force of gravity, I felt myself being pulled by an invisible force towards his face. When our lips met, it was like firecrackers going off in my stomach. I felt light-headed and nervous; like when I got my first kiss in the tenth grade. I hadn't kissed a guy in so long I was amazed my lips still knew what to do. My hands also took on a mind of their own when they moved up to his broad muscular shoulders. His large hands moved onto my hips, rubbing my sides gently. I didn't resist when he moved one of his hands under my shirt.

I'd only let one other guy ever touch me like this; I forgot what it felt like. Small sounds escaped me as his calloused finger tips brushed my sensitive skin. His lips shifted to my neck, right where it drove me crazy. I gasped in ecstasy despite the lightness of his kiss.

His other hand slid down to my butt. He pushed me gently forward so my hips were pressed to his. My mind finally regained control and pulled away.

"Gustav," I said hoarsely, "we shouldn't."

He looked at me with misty eyes and resigned his hands to my hips. We were both breathing kind of hard as we sat there staring at each other.

"Sorry, I wasn't thinking," he said much in the same way.

"It's alright; neither was I."

Just then, the phone rang. I'd forgotten Tally was going to call.

"Be right back," I mumbled as I got up and walked over to the phone.

"Yeah?" I said into the receiver.

"Nessa?" my sister's nervous voice said through the phone. I tensed up instantly at her using my old nick-name.

"What's up-_Tally_?"

She sniffled like she was about to cry.

"I did it again."


	6. And it just keeps getting bigger

Terror ran through me like a heroin injection. I had to go find her, but I couldn't let Gustav get suspicious.

"Where are you?" I tried to sound casual so he wouldn't catch on.

"In the alley by the movie theatre," she said shakily.

"Ok, I'll be right there," I said as I hung up the phone.

"Bill said he was too tired to drive her home, so I have to go pick up Tally," I said as I went around picking up my stuff.

"Tired? That doesn't sound like Bill," Gustav said skeptically.

"Well, we all have those days."

"I guess." He got up from the couch and collected his own belongings. "Can I see you again some time?"

"Aren't you guys leaving tomorrow?"

"The day after, but we do have a concert tomorr-"

"Well then you'll be getting that set up all day."

"Yeah, but I could get you tickets; you and your sister can come hang out with us after."

I really didn't have time for this; I had to go make sure his friend was still breathing.

"Sorry, we can't; we're both working late tomorrow."

"Are you just trying to get rid of me?" he asked in a hurt tone.

"No, it's not that. It's just that Tally doesn't like to be out for too long when it's dark and I just really have to go pick her up."

"Can I drive you there? It's on the way to my hotel."

"No, you don't have to waste gas on me."

"It's really no problem."

I finally had all my stuff together and was ready to get out the door, now I just had to get him out so I could leave.

"Look, I had a great time tonight, but you must be tired and need to rest for tomorrow and I really need to get Tally home and-"

He interrupted me by pressing his lips to mine firmly.

"Ok, I'll leave; and you don't have to go to my concert. Just promise you'll call me?"

I couldn't resist the sad puppy face he was giving me.

"I promise," I said.

I hated to lie to him, but if it got him out…

"Thanks," he said with another quick kiss. "I'll talk to you soon."

With that he finally left. I waited until I saw him get in his car and drive around the corner before I left the apartment. I sped all the way to the movie theatre with a death grip on my steering wheel. When I finally got there I found my sister in the alley with an unconscious Bill on the ground. He still had a pulse and was breathing, which were all good signs.

"What happened exactly?" I asked her. She was still fighting tears and scared out of her mind.

"He went to kiss me and I just lost it," she said in a rush. "I slammed him against the wall and he hit his head. I didn't mean to do it; I swear I didn't mean it."

I pulled her into me tightly.

"I know, don't worry. He's still alive, let's just get him to a hospital and we'll think of a story on the way there."

I was good at thinking on my feet, which came in handy at desperate times. We started to pull his body to my car when a voice frightened us both.

"Evelyn?" it was Gustav. "Oh my God, what happened?"

No! I hadn't thought of an excuse yet!

"Uhh," I stuttered.

"It was an accident," Tally blurted.

I elbowed her in the side discreetly.

"He tripped over some garbage and hit his head," I said in what I hope was a convincing tone. "We were just about to get him to the hospital."

Gustav whipped out his phone and called an ambulance. After he hung up he called someone else but he spoke in German. Meanwhile, my sister and I kept an eye on Bill to make sure he was still alright. When the paramedics finally got there we recited the story I'd told Gustav. As they hoisted him into the ambulance his eye like flickered and he let out a groan.

"You should go with him" I told Gustav.

He nodded in agreement and climbed in with the paramedics.

"We'll meet you there," I called over the commotion as the doors were closing.

I wasn't sure if he'd heard me, but that didn't matter; we weren't going to the hospital. I shoved Tally into my truck and sped off for home. I started packing our stuff as soon as we got in the door.

"Are we leaving again?" Tally asked in her small voice.

"Yep," I said flatly.

"Why? He's going to be fine."

"When he wakes up, he's going to tell what really happened. We have to go."

"Can we stop at the hospital first?"

"Why?"

"I want to say good-bye."

"The place will be swarming with people, **police** people; it's too dangerous."

"Please?"

Before I could answer, there was loud knocking on the front door.

"Evelyn? Tally?" It was Gustav. "I know you guys are in there."

I went to the door but didn't open it.

"What do you want?"

"You said you would meet us at the hospital; I thought something happened to you."

"Why aren't you there? Bill's gonna want someone there when he wakes up."

"He already woke up, he's asking for Tally."

My sister and I shared a look of unease.

"Does he remember anything?" Tally asked through the door.

"We don't know, he won't say anything except 'Where's Tally?'"

I looked at my sister; it seemed we wouldn't have a choice but to go to the hospital.

"Ok."

We got in his car and rode silently to the hospital. When we got there, I scoped out the building for police but didn't see any. We hurried down the hallways past nurses and doctors and other patients. Bill's door was open and we could hear him moaning. We heard Tom in the room with him, trying to calm him down. When we entered the room Tom's eyes locked onto us.

"What the hell did you do to him?" he yelled.

He began to cross the room towards Tally, but I stood in his way.

"She didn't do anything," I said just as loud.

"Then why is my brother passed out in a fucking hospital?"

"Guys!" Gustav yelled over both of us. "Would you both calm down? It was an accident for crying out loud, right?"

He looked at me to confirm this lie that had been spread like an airborne disease.

"Yeah, an accident," I said with less certainty than I had before.

Tom turned away from us, cursing under his breath in German. I suddenly had an uneasy feeling about this whole situation.

The doctor walked in just then with a clipboard in his hands.

"Is there someone here with him?" he said.

"Yes," Tom said, standing up.

"He has a moderate concussion and might have some memory loss. Other than that, he should be fine."

"Danke Gott," Tom mumbled.

"Now what happened exactly?"

Tom looked at Tally expectantly; she was standing next to Bill's bed holding his hand. He was still babbling and not really focusing on anything or anyone. He had calmed down since she had come in and vaguely resembled having a bad dream.

"He hit his head," Tally said simply.

The doctor nodded briefly.

"That seems to fit the bill. We'll keep him here for a few days just to make sure he doesn't have any internal bleeding, and you should be able to take him home after that."

"Thank you," Tom said as the doctor left the room.

'_He's going to be alright,_' I kept telling myself. '_Right?_'


	7. You and I collide

Tom and I had an intense stare-off after our argument. He was still trying to pin the blame on my sister for what happened, but like hell was I going to let him have the satisfaction of scaring the truth out of her (not that he knew it was the truth). He stayed on one side of Bill's bed, never more than two feet away. Tally stayed on the other, holding his hand (which drove him crazy) and talking to him while he tossed and turned (which drove him more crazy); I was never more than a foot away from her.

I'm not saying I didn't get where he was coming from; if my little sister was the one unconscious in some hospital in a foreign country and the person I wanted to blame was in the room, I'd be a little hostile too. But that didn't mean I was going to let him push us around. No sir, I would not stand for it. Every time he moved I would lock eyes with him, and every time he would stare back at me like I had was the biggest pain in the ass he had ever met.

Georg left at some point late in the night to go back to their hotel. Tom had already made it clear he wasn't going anywhere until Bill had woken up and confirmed Tally's side of the story. No matter how much I assured her he was in good hands, my sister wanted to stay until Bill woke up and I obviously was staying with her. Gustav stayed to make sure Tom and I didn't kill each other, and I kinda think to be with me.

Bill slept fitfully through the night, occasionally having moments of lucidity. Tom tried asking him what happened but every time Bill would lock eyes with my sister, mumble something, and fall back asleep. At around three in the morning he finally fell into a deep sleep. Tally took this opportunity to nap in one of the lumpy arm chairs in the room. Gustav, who looked like he was going to pass out any minute, looked at Tom and me as if asking if we were going to play nice while he slept. Tom leaned back in his chair as if to answer 'yes'. Gustav closed his eyes and seemed to fall asleep immediately.

It wasn't long before he was snoring quietly. Tom looked like he wanted to pass out himself but he kept himself fixated on me. He had a hint of an arrogant smirk on his face like he knew some big secret I wasn't allowed to know.

"You should get some rest," I said. "He's not going anywhere."

"I know, but in case he wakes up, I want to hear what he was to say."

"Why, expecting a message from the beyond?" I asked sarcastically. Like him, I was exhausted and irritable from everything that was going on.

His mouth slid into a frown.

"Ha ha, very funny," he said in a dry tone. "I don't know if you understand the situation, but-"

"Don't understand? How could I not understand?"

"It's not your sister hooked up to a machine."

"Doesn't mean I haven't been there," I said through my teeth,

"Yeah? What happened to her that you could possibly understand?"

I stared at him for some time, recalling a repressed memory from our childhood. I knew he was hurting and just wanted answers, but taking it out on me was really starting to get on my nerves.

"She fell down the stairs at school and no one was around. She lied on the ground for almost half an hour before somebody found her," I said as a small lump formed in my throat. "I knew when it happened; I don't know how. I just knew something was wrong with her, but the damn teacher wouldn't let me out of the room."

His face softened a bit.

"The only thing worse than finding out what happened was sitting in that room knowing she needed me and not being able to do anything," I continued as moisture built up in my eyes.

He looked at me knowingly; we were in almost the same situation here.

"When did you find out?"

"An hour after it happened. Our mom came to pick me up and we went to the hospital."

"How was she?"

"Severe concussion; she was unconscious for week and when she woke up didn't remember much from the day it happened. It was awful to see her hooked up to all the tubes and machines and watch the nurses poke and prod her every day. I just wanted to yell at them to get out, but I knew wouldn't help anything."

Tom nodded thoughtfully as he took in my story. He looked up at me with sympathetic eyes now, all traces of hostility gone.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier," he said. "This whole thing is making me tense, you know? Like, I don't care what the doctor's name is or what medications they're giving him. I just want him to wake up."

"I know; the world stops when they're in trouble, right?"

"Right."

"Having a twin is a pain in the ass sometimes," I said in a somewhat joking manner.

"Yeah, but can you imagine life any other way?"

"Nope; I can't go through life without my sister," I said looking down at a sleeping Tally next to the bed.

The tension had vanished between us now that we both knew where the other was coming from. I felt a connection with him I hadn't felt with other people; we were both a half of a soul that had a deep instinct to guard the other half. We both had felt the pain of almost losing our other half and in turn understood each other's pain. Never before had I met someone who felt that instinct as strong as I did. Sure, I'd met other sets of twins, but they weren't as close as my sister and I; probably because they didn't have to defend their sibling like I do mine. But Tom did; I guess in the whirlwind that was their life he felt he had to protect Bill from the madness of their celebrity stature.

With the new appreciation we had for each other, we let our guards down and let ourselves fall asleep in the crowded hospital room.


End file.
